Ecological

Pyramids
 Ecological Pyramids

• Instead of Hawk
(1 kcal)

representing
5
trophic levels in a
food web, an 4 Snake (10 kcal)

ecological Frog (100 kcal)

3
pyramid can be Grasshopper (1,000 kcal)
used. 2
Grass (10,000 kcal)
1
 Ecological Pyramids
• Does this pyramid represent a food chain
or web? Hawk
(1 kcal)

• How could 5

this pyramid 4 Snake (10 kcal)

be changed to Frog (100 kcal)

3
represent a
Grasshopper (1,000 kcal)
food web? 2
Grass (10,000 kcal)
1
 Ecological Pyramids
Hawk
(1 kcal)

• What do the big 5

numbers
4 Snake (10 kcal)
represent?
Frog (100 kcal)
3
• What does the Grasshopper (1,000 kcal)
2
kcal mean?
Grass (10,000 kcal)
1
 Pyramid of Energy
• What happens to the energy as you go
up? Hawk
(1 kcal)

• How much
5
energy is
available for 4 Snake (10 kcal)

the next level? Frog (100 kcal)

3
(What %) Grasshopper (1,000 kcal)
2
Grass (10,000 kcal)
1
 Pyramid of Energy
Pyramids of
energy show
Hawk
the relative (1 kcal)

amount of 5
energy
Snake (10 kcal)
available at 4

each trophic 3
Frog (100 kcal)

level of a food Grasshopper (1,000 kcal)

2
chain or food
web. 1
Grass (10,000 kcal)
Pyramid of Energy
Pyramid of Energy
 Ecological Pyramids
• How is this pyramid different from the
previous ones?
• What could the
multiple
pictures of the
species at each
level represent?
 Pyramid of Biomass
Biomass-the total
amount of living
tissue within a given
trophic level.
A pyramid of
biomass illustrates
the relative amount
of living organic
matter available at
each trophic level
 Pyramid of Biomass
• What information would this pyramid
include if it were a pyramid of
biomass?

• How do they
get a number
total for the
biomass of a
population?
Pyramid of Biomass
Pyramid of Biomass
 Pyramid of Numbers

A pyramid of
numbers shows
the relative
number of
individual
organisms at each
trophic level.
 Pyramid of Numbers
• What information would this pyramid
include if it were a pyramid of
numbers?

• How do they
get a number
total for a
population of
organisms?
Pyramid of Numbers
Pyramid of Numbers
Pyramids of Aquatic Ecosystems
• Numbers

• Biomass

Phytoplankton are microscopic

and weigh very little
• Energy
 Pyramids of Temperate Forests
• Numbers
Trees are huge but not as
numerous as many smaller forest
creatures.
• Biomass

• Energy